Warm weather leaves gardeners wondering what to do

The record-breaking warm temperatures this spring have raised a lot of questions about the effects this will have on the plants in our gardens.

Even people who don't garden seem to understand that trees and shrubs blooming much earlier than normal could be problematic, should temperatures drop back down to seasonable levels.

Spring in my backyard, and in many other parts of the country, seems to be accelerated in part due to these seasonably warm temperatures, but also in part due to the exceptionally mild nonwinter we sailed through this year. If this trend keeps up, spring will be compressed into a few short weeks. My garden is already at least a month ahead of schedule and for some plants perhaps even further ahead than that.

I have been fielding questions lately from family and friends about everything from their trees and shrubs leafing out early to concerns about planting their spring gardens. If the well-above-normal temperatures have you unsettled, don't worry. Nature is fickle -- and also resilient and adaptable.

Should there be a cold snap after your trees have leafed out, well, so be it. The trees know what to do. Sure, freezing temperatures could damage newly emerging leaves, but if that were to happen, your trees would grow new leaves several weeks later. Plants have evolved over thousands of years to cope with these sorts of calamities.

In the case of early flowering coinciding with freezing temperatures, the outcome would likely be the same. The flowers would be lost, but in all likelihood the tree or shrub would live to bloom again; and probably be none the worse for the wear.

While a sudden cold snap may present only a cosmetic problem for most flowering trees, for others it can be problematic. Fruit trees hit with freezing temperatures while they are in flower can result in poor crops. Early blooming fruit trees such as peaches, apricots, and plums are especially at risk. Freezing temperatures also keep pollinating insects at bay resulting in double jeopardy.

The mild spring has certainly given us all a head start in terms of cleanup, and for many gardeners this means we can concentrate on more exciting tasks like planting. For gardeners in northern states the question of when to start planting the vegetable garden is one that becomes vexing when the calendar and the temperatures don't mesh.

I, like may gardeners, use seasonal benchmarks for planting my vegetable garden. For instance, I follow the old adage of sewing peas between Saint Patrick's Day and April Fools Day, although for obvious reasons I never plant anything on April Fools Day!

This year I have decided to take a risk, throw caution to the wind and plant my garden early with cool-loving crops even though the calendar might advise against it.

My thinking is that even if I lose a row or two of cool season crops like arugula, radishes, lettuce, fava beans or early broccoli, the minimal trouble it takes to plant my garden and the small cost incurred makes it well worth the risk.

The worst-case scenario is I have to replant, the best case is I have an early harvest, making an early spring all the more enjoyable.